Oil filters, recyclers, refiners or reclamation devices are used as a component part of internal combustion engines to filter or otherwise alter in some way an engine's lubricating oil which undergoes constant recycling through the engine.
Typical of such devices which filter and/or subject an engine's recycling engine oil to heat treatment in an evaporation chamber so as to separate liquid contaminates therefrom, are those disclosed in numerous prior patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,272,371 issued Jun. 1, 1981--Moses et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,349,438 issued Sep. 14, 1982--Sims, U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,642 issued Jul. 10, 1984--Okubo et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,352 issued Jul. 24, 1990--Lefebvre et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,704 issued Nov. 20, 1990--Johnson et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,956 issued May 20, 1997--Lynch, U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,912 issued Jan. 13, 1998--DePaul, U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,596 issued Jun. 21, 1994--Arntz, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,034 issued Sep. 7, 1993--DePaul.
A further representative oil recycler is disclosed which serves the twofold purpose of filtering the lubricating oil as it recycles through the engine so as to remove particles therefrom and heating a portion of the lubricating oil being recycled in a heating chamber so as to evaporate liquid contaminates from the oil which passes through the chamber is disclosed in PCT Application PCT/GB96/00424 published under No. WO96/25996 on Aug. 26, 1996--Assali. It is the heating of oil in a chamber such as that disclosed in the Assali published application and other known prior art devices which are designed to heat and thereby evaporate liquid contaminates from recycling engine oil to which the process of the invention disclosed herein has particular application.
Assali, as well as others, have invariably employed a heating chamber for treating a portion of the recycling engine oil at a temperature sufficient to evaporate liquid impurities carried by the oil being recycled such as water or fuel. Assali discloses a heat chamber which is electronically controlled at a temperature from 115.degree. C. to 135.degree. C. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,515 (supra.), DePaul discloses an operating temperature for the heating or distillation chamber in his lubricating oil reconditioning system of about 190.degree. F. (88.degree. C.). U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,352 (supra.), Lefebvre indicates that the evaporation chamber operates at a temperature sufficient to evaporize fuel and water from the oil and noting water will evaporate at less than 212.degree. F. (100.degree. C.) and fuel at less than its flashpoint.
It is apparent from the foregoing that heating chambers which can variously be described as reclamation or refining devices, recycling devices, volatilization chambers or distillation stills have, hitherto, been designed to treat oil which is recycled through an internal combustion engine at a temperature which approximates the boiling point of the liquid contaminates, such as water, glycol or fuel carried by the recycled oil, and which temperature, based on the published literature, need only operate at an upper temperature limit of 135.degree. C., with reference in this regard being had to Assali (supra.).